Floating barriers, known generally as oil booms, have been found to have great utility in containing and controlling oil slicks on bodies of water. The barriers usually include floatation elements having a depending liquid impervious skirt which, when deployed around or in a controlling position relative to oil floating on water, provide means to contain or prevent the oil from spreading or moving into areas protected by the barrier.
Present art barriers generally utilize a solid material as the floatation medium since gas inflatable floatation elements are susceptible to puncture and/or deflation in the environment to which the barriers are normally subjected. Such floatation is generally suitable when, the barriers are to be utilized in relatively sheltered water where low barrier free boards are acceptible. In deep or open water applications however, the barrier free board must necessarily be large to preclude slop over of water and oil under high wave and/or wind conditions. With the larger free board, the solid type of floatation is not suitable because of great amount of storage and transportation space required and the greater difficulty in manipulating the barrier during deployment, positioning and retrieval. Furthermore, because a solid floatation element will have a larger movement of inertia than an inflated floatation element of equivalent size, the solid floatation element is more resistant to movement and therefore less able to follow wave motion without slop over.